Roof structure



A. B. WILSON ROOF STRUCTURE Original Filed May 12, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1IN V ENTlOR. (ZZZemB. wzson,

Jan. 31, 1961 A. B. WILSON 2,969,754 ROOF STRUCTURE} Original Filed May12, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 NVENTOR. Zfldsam Uni ROOF STRUCTURE Allen B.Wilson, Chicago, IlL, assignor to Acme Steel Company, Chicago, 111., acorporation of Illinois Original application May 12, 1954, Ser. No.429,237. Divided and this application May 13, 1955, Ser. No. 508,255

1 Claim. (Cl. 189-34) This invention relates to improvements in roofdecks and methods of forming them and the present application is adivision of an original application, Serial No. 429,237, filed May 12,1954.

In the building of a certain type of roof constructions, such as thoseemployed in factories and other buildings, it is customary to provide asheet metal roof deck, which rests upon the beams or other supportingstructure of the roof, and which is covered with insulation, tar paper,asphalt, tar or other materials by which the outer covering of the roofis formed and the roof made weather tight. It is the usual practice toform the roof deck of sheet metal panels supported by sheet metal beams,thus providing a composite sheet metal structure which extendsthroughout the area of the roof. These sheet metal panels and beams arecommonly secured together by means of specially formed fasteners whichhave added substantially to the cost of the roofing material and to thecost of the labor required to build the roof. Also, the use of theseauxiliary fastening devices has not been satisfactory because of theirtend ency to become loose after use and because they sometimes requirethe punching of the panels and beams to form holes which do not alwaysregister properly when the roof deck is assembled.

It is, therefore, the principal object of the present invention toprovide an improved roof deck and an improved method of forming it,whereby the sheet metal beams and panels are secured together withoutthe use of any auxiliary fastening devices. Another object of theinvention is to provide an improved roof joint in which complementaryparts of the roof are secured together by integral portions thereofwhich have an interlocking engagement with each other. Other objectsrelate to various features of construction and arrange ment, and todetails of the method, which will appear more fully hereinafter.

The nature of the invention will be understood from the followingspecification taken with the accompanying drawings in which oneembodiment of the improved roof deck and one example of forming it areillustrated. In the drawings:

Figure l is a perspective view of a portion of a roof deck formedaccording to the present invention and illustrating the use of animproved crimping tool in the hands of a workman;

Fig. 2 shows an enlarged top plan view of a portion of the roof deckillustrated in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 shows a sectional view taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of the roof deckillustrated in Fig. 1 with parts thereof shown in vertical section;

Fig. 5 shows an enlarged front elevation of one form of the improvedcrimping tool adapted for use in forming joints between the parts of theroof deck illustrated in Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive;

Fig. 6 shows a sectional view taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a view similar to the lower part of Fig. 6 illustrating therelative positions and conditions of the parts when the crimping toolshown in Figs. 5 and 6 is first put in place for use; and

Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken on the line 8-8 of Fig. 6.

In Fig. 1 of the drawings, an improved crimping tool 10 is shown in thehands of a workman on a roof deck 11 which, as further shown in Figs. 2,3 and 4, is made up of a plurality of parallel beams 12 upon which aremounted a plurality of sheet metal roof panels 13. The beams 12 areformed of sheet metal and extend parallel to each other with their uppersurfaces at the same level as the upper surfaces of the panels 13. Eachbeam comprises a top wall 12a having side walls 12b extending downwardlytherefrom and flared outwardly from the top wall to a slight extent.Each side wall 12b is joined with a bottom wall and each bottom wall isjoined with a vertically extending outer wall 12d, each of whichterminates at its top edge in an inwardly turned flange 12a which isinclined downwardly away from the plane of the uppermost edge of theconnected outer wall.

Each sheet metal panel 13 is of corrugated form, being made up ofparallel convolutions including top wall portions 13a which are ofsubstantial width and which are joined by the intervening channelportions 13b each comprising downwardly converging walls 13c which areformed integrally with the bottom walls 13d. The panels 13 rest upon theupper edges of the outer walls 12d of the beams and the top surfaces ofthe panels are in the same planes as the top surfaces of the adjacentWalls 12a of the supporting beams.

According to the present invention, the beams 12 and panels 13 areconnected by means which are formed inte grally with these membersincluding tongues 13e which are formed at the ends of the bottom walls13d of the channels 13b and which are curled or bent downwardly andlaterally about the inclined flanges 12e of the beams, thus providinginterlocking joints between the outer portions of each beam and thepanels 13 which are supported thereon. The flanges 13e are formed byslitting the metal of the bottom walls 13d of the channels inwardly fromtheir edges and bending these tongues downwardly and outwardly so thatthey underlie the flanges 122 and conform to the inclination of theseflanges as shown in Fig. 3. In this way, the parts of the roof deck aresecurely connected together without the use of auxiliary fasteningdevices.

In Figs. 1, 5, 6, 7 and 8 of the drawings there is shown one form of acrimping tool 10 by which the tongues 13e are formed and curled aboutthe flanges of the beams. This form of the crimping tool is claimed insaid application Serial No. 429,237 and comprises a shearing and bendinghead 16 having a body portion 16a of cylindrical form and a downwardlyprojecting blade portion 16b which has parallel side faces 16c and tworelatively inclined and downwardly converging end faces 16d and 16::which terminate in a sharp edge 16 At its upper end, the inclinedsurface 162 is connected by a shoulder 16g with another inclined surface16h which extends upwardly to the lower end of the cylindrical portion16a.

When this tool is put into use it is first placed in the position shownin Fig. 7 with the face 16d of the blade contacting the outer surface ofa side wall 12b and with the surface 16:: resting on the edge of thebottom wall 13d of the panel 13 which is then resting upon the upperedge of the adjacent outer wall 12d. In order to form the joint whichhas previously been described, the head 16 is then thrust downwardlywith the result that the metal of the bottom wall 13d of the channel issheared longitudinally to form a tongue which is at the same time bentdownwardly and reversed about the edge of the flange 12s of the beamuntil it finally occupies the position shown in Fig. 6 where it is bentaround the flange of the beam and lies in .close contact therewith, thusholding the panel against relative movement in any direction withrespect to the connected beam.

To facilitate the actuation of the head 16 in the formation of theinterlocking joint between the beam. and the panel, the cylindricalportion 160! of the head is provided at its upper end with a tubularbore 16f which is threadedly engaged by a plunger or piston rod 17.Relative rotation of the members 16 and 17 is prevented by a pin 18which extends transversely through the threaded portions thereof.

The piston or plunger 17 has a loose sliding engagement with a block 19having at its upper end an internally threaded recess 19a which isthreadedly engaged by the lower extremity of a tube 20. The piston rodor plunger 17 is provided at its upper end with a piston 21 adapted toslide in the tube 20. When the piston rod and piston are in their upperpositions the head 16 lies in proximity to the block 19 and the piston21 lies in proximity to a plug 22 which is secured in the upper end ofthe tube 20 by transverse pins or rivets 23. The plug 22 extendsupwardly beyond the tube 20 and provides with the tube 20 a handle formanipulating the tool. A transverse bar 24 is secured in the upper endof the plug 22 for engagement by the hands of the operator.

In the use of this tool, the tube 20 and the plug 22 are reciprocated onthe piston 21 and the piston rod 17 in order to impart blows to theupper end of the piston rod or plunger 17, thereby causing the head 16to be forced downwardly and to perform the previously described Shearingand bending operations on the edge of the bottom wall of the channel inthe roof panel.

The tool may be operated in this manner by a workman standing on theroof deck, as shown in Fig. '1, and the roof panels may thus be quicklyand securely connected to the side portions of the supporting beams.

Although one example of the improved roof construction, together withone method of forming it, have been illustrated and described, it willbe understood that all of these features of the present invention may bemodified in various ways without departing from the scope of theappended claim.

I claim:

A roof deck comprising a three dimensional sheet metal beam having aflat top wall joined by downwardly projecting side walls with outwardlyextending bottom walls which have their outer edges united with upwardlyextending outer walls terminating in inwardly extending flanges, andcorrugated sheet metal panels having flat top portions joined byintervening channel portions which rest at their ends on said inwardlyextending flanges, said channel portions having their end extremitiesslitted to form tongues which are bent around the edges of said flanges,said top wall of said beam and said top portions of said panels beingsubstantially in the same plane.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS556,207 Patterson Mar. 10, 1896 1,430,807 Hofimann Oct. 3, 19221,751,923 Kane Mar. 25, 1930 1,778,337 Pratt Oct. 14, 1930 1,843,062Bradley Jan. 26, 1932 1,865,674 Carter July 5, 1932 1,949,543 LoucksMar. 6, 1934 1,997,939 Loucks Apr. 16, 1935 2,211,384 Patterson Aug. 13,1940 2,673,390 Broberg Mar. 30, 1954

